


Klangst Week Drabble Collection

by TheQueen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Hurt/Comfort, Klangst Week, Klangst Week 2018, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-07 11:05:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14079519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueen/pseuds/TheQueen
Summary: My works for the Klangst Week (2018).Schedule:March 24th: Remember/ForgetMarch 25th: Fire/WaterMarch 26th: Fear/AngerMarch 27th: Light/ShadowMarch 28th: Create/RuinMarch 29th: Human/AlienMarch 30th: Give/TakeEvent held on Tumblr: https://klangst-week.tumblr.com





	1. Forget/Remember

“Doing all right?” Shiro asks, pressing another glass of something vaguely alcoholic in his hands.

He grunts, unable to tear his gaze away from where Lance was busy flirting with one of the court ladies. He watches as she dares to brush her dainty gloved hands against Lance’s cheek and knocks the drink back. God bless the loss of his gag reflex.

Shiro shakes his head and takes Keith's empty glass. “That was supposed to be for the night.”

“I’ll get another one,” Keith shrugs, waving over another waiter. “Don’t you have political niceties to get to with Allura.”

“Keith,” Shiro sighs.

“Shiro,” Keith mocks.

“Coran is working on it,” Shiro reminds him as Keith grabs another drink, setting the empty glass on the waiter’s tray. “This is temporary.”

Keith shrugs and takes a sip. This one is bitter and not as alcoholic, but it'll do. It's been hours now, certainly soon he'll be allowed to leave without insult.

“He’ll remember again,” Shiro promises.

The woman laughs after Lance says something funny. Lance looks far to pleased with himself. Keith turns on his heel. “I’m going out for some air.”


	2. Fire & Water

The fire licks it’s way up his arm and across his chest, a bright streak of red and gold that stands in sharp contrast against the bronze of his skin. Passion. Desire.

He gives any excuse to take off his shirt, to show off his soulmark to anyone who bothers to look. In the communal showers, he silently gloats at the way stares linger on his shoulder, where the supernova burst is bright and visible. Love.

One day he’s going to meet his soulmate and it’s going to be perfect. It’s all there, written on his skin for the world to see. The definition of the flames. The saturation of the colors. He’s destined for a happy love, a passionate and beautiful and envious love.

Then the day comes when he meets him. They’re arguing, of course they are, and Keith makes to punch at him before Lance catches the crashes of waves where his tank top rides up when he raises his arms. Three hours later they’re making out on Lance’s sofa before Hunk walks in only to walk out screaming about his eyes.

Their love isn’t easy though. That’s the thing about turbulent fires and roaring waves: passion but not ease. One day he watches Keith storm out the door and the next into the bedroom. One day he watches Keith kiss another man to get a rise and breaks his fist on someone’s teeth.

The problem is they adore each other. The problem is if they slowed down and breathed Lance knew they’d be beyond perfect. He’s seen his parent’s love, swirls of ivy and rose stems forming a barrier against a wall and he craves those moments where it’s just KeithandLance back to back. When they sync perfectly and it’s perfect and nothing hurts.

(Because fuck this love hurts.)

One day he comes home to Keith on the sofa and a beer, watching reruns of Law and Order and thinks about ending it. One day he goes as far as to sit down on that same sofa, turn off the TV, and tell Keith he isn’t happy.

It isn’t surprising when Keith says he isn’t happy either.

They both talk about walking away. There are stories where soulmates find happy endings somewhere else. But the thought of seeing Keith in another’s arms is enough get his blood boiling and Keith snarls at the thought when voiced. So they try instead to get better. No more fights, no more arguments for arguments sake.

They make a list of pet peeves and even consider going to couples counseling. Keith jokes they’re both crazying enough to make a therapist’s day.

Six months later, when he’s happy lounging in bed with Keith fast asleep in his arms, he feels the familiar jerk of a new mark. He wiggles free, pulls off his shirt, and marvels at the new branch of flames curling around his heart, so soft and delicate they looked more like rays of light than fire.


	3. Fear

The betrayal is clean, efficient.

He saw it coming. In so many ways he saw it coming. But in many ways, no one had wanted to believe.

The battalion descends during the night rotation. The shields never turn on. The locks all unlock. By the time they realize what’s happening it’s too late.

Lance watches Lotor plunge the sword through Keith’s throat and screams.


	4. Light & Dark

Lance smiles weakly from his place by the entrance. Keith, soaked to the bone, tries to echo it. From under his sweater, he pulls out a few semi-dried twigs. Outside, the crash of lightning and the screech of an animal reverberates through the canyon.

“It’s not a lot,” Keith admits, throwing it onto their growing pile. Lance’s leg smarts and he moves carefully towards their makeshift fire pit, pulling out the matches from his backpack. “But if we time it right it should last us a few hours and hopefully keep some bears away.”

“I still think we should be worried about mountain lions,” Lance teases as he hands Keith the matches.

Keith sighs. “Either way light should work.”

“Do you…” Lance glances past the cave entrance out into the downpour as if he could see civilization in the distance. “Do you think they’ll find us?”

Keith hums and lights the fire. The heat is soft, barely there as Lances shimmys his way closer, careful not to upset his broken ankle. “They’ll find us,” Keith promises. “The minute this rain lets up they’ll be here. We didn’t fall that far.”

That far… as if a couple thousand feet isn’t a lot. In all honesty, they were lucky to walk away (or limp in his case) with just a broken ankle and ripped clothes.

Lance watches Keith through the flames, the dark shadows highlighting the strength of his jaw and the edges where the blood had crusted along the cut on his throat. “You should take off your wet clothes,” Lance says, patting the sleeping bag next to him.

“Going survivor on me,” Keith jokes, shucking off his wet sweater and pants before sitting down next to Lance.

“You’re frozen,” Lance grumbles, pulling Keith closer. “Try to get some rest. I’ll keep watch.”

Keith grumbles something inaudible but it isn’t long until the fatigue after a long day of hiking and nearly dying catches up and he’s out. Lance adjusts so Keith’s head is pillowed comfortably in his lap, watching the shadows dance along the wall.


	5. Create/Ruin

Keith smiles, quietly ushering the last set forward with a delicate wave of his hands. Next to him, Shiro shifts to a more relaxed position while the guards around them maintain their form. 

“Lance,” Keith greets, teeth flashing in the dim light.

Lance peers up at him through narrowed eyes, bright blue and so very altean. Keith sighs, allowing himself a single moment to mourn what could have been, before straightening. “It’s good to see you.”

Lance snorts, shifting as if he could get comfortable in his chains. Behind him Shiro takes a few steps forward. Lance flinches as if Shiro’s arm could reach that far and Keith frowns. “How have your accommodations been?”

“Lovely for a cell,” Lance mocks. 

Keith sighs again, this time heavier, before lifting himself from his throne and crossing the short distance to where Lance stood, defiant despite it all. He traces one nail along the collar around Lance’s neck. “This could have been so much easier, Lance.”

Lance shakes him off and Keith allows his hand to be dislodged. “This was never going to be easy, Keith.”

Keith catches the eye of Lance’s guard (a recent transfer named Allura) and gestures for Lance to be taken away. Lance snarls when the guards grab his leash, flinching when Keith pats the side of his face.

“We have time,” Keith promises as Allura takes Lance from the run. “We will create anew.”

Lance’s bright blue eyes burn as he’s dragged away. “You will never break me.”


	6. Humans & Aliens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a sucker for forbidden love.

There are laws. They say they were made for their safety. They say they were made to maintain order.

They catch each other’s eyes on separate sides of the court yard; slip past each other as they move towards opposite ends of the hallway. They never utter a word. They never linger long.

Sometimes Keith is bold enough to run the tips of sharp claws along the ends of blunted fingers.

Sometimes Lance is bold enough to pass paper messages through clenched fists.

(They say this is how the world is meant to work)

In public they are no more than strangers, two ships sailing along similar waters. Headed for different ports, routes defined by the race and planet they were born into.

In private they curl around each other with the windows drawn and the lights off, waiting and planning for the day their love would no longer be forbidden. Birthing a movement in the space between their fingers.

(They are wrong.)


	7. Give

Time starts to slow down. The drag from day to day battle to battle, becomes monotonous, becomes routine. At some point, near deaths stop rattling. At some point, fear gives to normalcy.

It… it becomes easy.

They rarely form Voltron these days. They rarely fly their lions unless they have to. There is a bigger war at play than the early days when they weren’t sure what to do. There is a resistance actively working to make things better. There are smaller battles fought less with guns and explosions and more with carefully crafted words and the right gift here or there. The Galra are a great empire, but Zarkon and his generals are distant.

It is easy to seduce greedy planets. It is easy to promise freedom to enslaved planets.

It is easy.

The way the free universe grows and grows. Slowly they push back against the red in their star maps. Create pockets of blue. Encourage the right rebellions at the right time so the people are also fighting. After ten thousand years of nearly undefeated conquest, the Galra have grown complacent.

It is…almost pathetic how easy it is.

People get hurt. People die. Pidge has a mechanical right eye. Lance had his trigger finger replaced on his right hand after a Galra interrogator shattered it beyond repair. Keith has metal plating in his knee from a Blade mission gone wrong. Hunk has enough scars on his left side to be considered modern art. They’ve lost comrades. Other resistance fighters who lost battles or supply chains. Captains taken as prisoners, who bit the bullet before allowing any information to escape.

(Now when Lance goes on missions he keeps a capsule in the back of his mouth and barely blinks)

It is not the constant knee-deep struggle Lance had anticipated. It is not the never-ending cycle of violence. It is, in many ways, relatively easy to give up that small essence of humanity, that part that cares.

He stands on the other side of the rifle, the stretch of land between him and Keith (traitor, betrayer, Galra, Galra, Galra) smaller than it should be. “It doesn’t have to be like this,” Keith says. “We don’t have to fight like this.”

Lance grunts, shifts the rifle so it’s more evenly pointed at the space between Keith’s eyebrows. Around them the battle for the sake of the universe warges on and on and on, foot soldiers and generals all lost in the rubble. For a moment, in the chaos, there is only them.

Keith lowers his blade and reaches out with one, shaking hand. “Lance, please.”

It’s easy to take the shot.

It’s easy.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
